Auntie Mandie and Gramma's Spring Break!

So they came to see Luke. (We hope they enjoyed seeing his parents, too.)

They were excellent sports all week, and dealt with a very crabby boy with humor and grace. (BOY, WAS HE A WRECK!) His high-volume call out for Mama is probably still ringing in their ears.

Luke is currently plagued with a horrible disease called separation anxiety, so it is a lot these days for people who don't see him every day even to eke a smile out of him. (And let's not even talk about the horror of Mom leaving the scene. Gasp!)

The day Patti and Mandie had to catch the plane, Luke was finally relaxed, goofy, and happy to play with them and smile. At last he was hamming it up like the real Lukeyman. Too bad they didn't stay another week and get a full dose of the real deal! Next time... :(

One happy thing about the visit is that we got lots of good pictures! Gramma and Mandie are skilled and faithful photographers. Most of these pictures are from their cameras. There were too many to choose from! "If in doubt, put them on the blog anyway," is our motto. (Result: LOTS of photos this time. Enjoy.)


Caught by the paparazzi! Our first day together, we all enjoyed a trip to the arboretum. Luke chased ducks, and Richie chased his wife.


One of our dinners together. "Well hu-LO, Auntie Mandie!"


Luke with his Gramma.


One of the highlights of our week was Luke's very first trip to the Sacramento Zoo. Out of the car, and excited!!!


"Well, Father, it appears that the southern route through the zoo may be the most efficient this fine morning."


April 2nd was the day we went to the zoo, which is a special day to all of us. April 2nd marked exactly four years since Richie's dad, Lukey's Grandpa Clive, got to go to heaven. Clive's favorite flowers were Birds of Paradise, so it was very meaningful to us to see a patch of these flowers at the zoo that day.


Mommy just can't get over the handsomeness of her men! The generations of Armstrongs continue...


(Made possible by the addition of a female. :)


We took our turns being kangaroos. Bethany, straighten out that head! Mandie, you would make a charming baby kangaroo. You should reconsider your career.


Richieroo.


Lukey's turn!


Gramma opted to be a butterfly.


Right before the killer frog attacked them from behind.


More excited about the Mama than about the penguins. (Though the Mama's favorite animals are penguins, so for a few moments she was more excited about the penguins than about the son.)


No comment can do this fellow justice.


Watching the monkeys.


"Um... Mom... Um... Mom... WHY is Gramma riding on an alligator???"


No one was surprised to discover that one of Luke's favorite parts of the zoo was a dump truck. (Until Mandie put quarters in and it freaked him out.)


You'd think he was actually driving it.


Mandie wanted a turn in the dump truck, too.


Luke's second-favorite part of the zoo.


Two daddies, two Lukeys, and lots of fish! Speaking of fish, it was funny to see how everything at the zoo was interpreted by Luke in terms he understood. The turtles were fish (he did fishylips at them), the lions were cats (he meowed at them), and the lizards were dogs! (He barked at them.) (They didn't bark back.)


Staring, staring...


Staring, staring... (This was actually a frightening, frightening lion. She paced fiendishly and kept her eyes glued on Luke. It scared us, so we left to watch more tame animals. Then we overhead a zookeeper talking hush-hush to another zookeeper, telling him to keep an eye out for this lion because she never comes that far forward and seems really riled up. She came that far forward when she saw Luke! He probably looked like a really tasty snack.)


Luke likes to dance on drains and manhole covers!


Finally, an animal almost his size.


Luke has been eating a lot of rocks and dirt clods lately. Here Mandie tries to spare his digestive system and get the zoo-rock before it goes down.


Throwing a tantrum to impress his dear auntie.


Back on her good side.


Hmm. What could be happening under that suspiciously placed jacket? A baby's got to do what a baby's got to do, even if he's in the middle of the zoo... (Milk is the secret to a happy toddler, every time, anytime, anywhere.)


Who had the most fun at the zoo?


Back in Orchard Park. This picture captures Luke's attitude much of the week: MAMA!


Decorating our sidewalk with scribbles! (And eating half the chalk in the process. He ate blue chalk the other day, and out came bright blue spots in his diaper!)


"MAMA!!!!! MAMA!!!!!" (Chill out, Son, it's your own grandma...)


Luke sports one of the cutest little sweatshirt vests ever, courtesy of Gramma and Mandie. (Roots is a Canadian store, by the way.) Meanwhile, he wonders about who these two people are... (We showed him their pictures every day, but still, he was so tripped out.)


Vroom vroom!


Driving the Volvo (must stand up for the occasion). Patti, Mandie, Bethany, and Luke drove to the Co-Op in the Volvo for some dinner items, the first ride in it that Patti and Mandie got. The fumes and rough ride did not make them nauseated, which was a miracle.


Once we got to the Co-Op, Luke zoomed around the store pushing his babycart, careening through the aisles. (Elated until his mother tried to tame him and he threw tantrums. Sigh.)


Luke was actually so grumpy one day that we donated him to charity. (Charity = Poppy and Grammy.) So the rest of us got to enjoy a Lukeless evening trip to Vacaville. We came back to pick him up at the end of the evening and found him outside looking like THIS!




What a pose you have there, Son!


Patti and Mandie were amazed by the la-la-land of Orchard Park, so idyllic you'd think it wasn't real. Happy children everywhere, unstolen toys scattered about. Here Luke plays with his Chilean friend, Vincente, who enjoyed filling Luke's clothes with sand.


Luke with more of his buddies.


An evening walk in Downtown Davis.


Two of Sarah's greatest fans are Patti and Mandie, and one of THEIR greatest fans is Sarah. The three of them enjoyed Thursday hangout time (which included a trip to In N Out, of course.)


When Luke warmed up to his dear grandma and auntie, he spent a lot of time playing "peekaboo" with them. Here he goes...


Luke shows off his Harold profile while gulping Gramma's water.


Pouting because she dared to hold him.


Action shot.


Timothy treated Patti and Mandie much better than Luke did. What a happy guy he is!!!


Could Timothy be jealous that Luke can walk? "Wait for me, Luke!"


A sand tantrum.


Luke was jealous of some girls playing in the sand with water. So with his new bucket that Gramma bought him, he needed to go get some water, too. Keeping up with the Joneses.


Oh come on, Son!


Doesn't she look gorgeous? And doesn't he look much better not crying? (Although his crying face really is pretty cute...)


They have matching brows.


Trying to scoot away into the sandbox... Ha! Mandie got a picture first!


"Since Luke won't let me hold him, I'll just sit up here at the top of the ropes."


We hope Patti and Mandie got some R&R while they were here...


Too soon, it was time for them to go. (Who has the easiest life?)


After Patti and Mandie checked out of the hotel, we still had several hours until their plane would depart. So we walked down to the Farmer's Market. Here Luke soaks in the sights of the market. (Legs in the background belong to Bethany and Mrs. Roemer, Bethany's second-grade teacher!)


You've got to love Davis, where you run into everyone you know... At the Farmer's Market, Bethany saw both of her second-grade teachers, Kelly and Shealyn, as well as a friend from church, Gilda, and her sweet Elizabeth! Bethany rode with Elizabeth on the swing until Luke got jealous.


A carousel, dogs, popcorn, children, ... and yes. Balloons.




Elated at the sight of the carousel.


It was fun having other people to entertain Luke... arms free, time to cuddle. Who cares if it was in public.


Just hangin' out with Gramma, pokin' at her camera.


Four of us, all appearing to be laughing at Mandie. (Sorry Mandie.)


Then she jumped in the picture. (Thanks, Gilda!)


It is funny to see Richie around his siblings. The typical big-brother my-job-is-to-torment-my-sister side comes out.


Something struck us as really funny about this picture.


That's better.


Walking toward the car after our Saturday-morning fun, Luke tripped and made the best of it. First he poked at a spot of bird poop, and then he went "ny ny" for a good long while on the concrete.


On the way to the airport, trying to be O.C.


"Hey Gramma, how do I look?"


Where have the blue eyes gone? "I'm an Armstrong now!" says Mr. Hazel.

And to that little fellow, they had to say goodbye. :(

Thanks for coming, Mom and Mandie! (Luke promises to be nicer next time.)